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Welcome to Insights Secure Prelims – 2014 initiative. The following questions are sourced from the previous year UPSC Question Papers.

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Question 1 of 20

1. Question

The monthly income of Komal and Asha are in the ratio of 4 : 3. Their monthly expenses are in the ratio of 3 : 2. However, both save Rs. 600 per month. What is their total monthly income ?

Rs. 8,400

Rs. 5,600

Rs. 4,200

Rs. 2,800

Correct

Rs. 4,200

Incorrect

Rs. 4,200

Question 2 of 20

2. Question

Examine the following relationships among members of a family of six persons A, B, C, D, E and F.

I. The number of males equals that of females.

II. A and E are sons of F.

III. D is the mother of two, one boy and one girl.

IV. B is the son of A.

V. There is only one married couple in the family at present.

Which one of the following inferences can be drawn from the above ?

A, B and C are all females

A is the husband of D

E and F are children of D

D is the grand-daughter of F

Correct

A is the husband of D

Incorrect

A is the husband of D

Question 3 of 20

3. Question

The earliest evidence of silver in India is found in the

Harappan Culture

Vedic texts

Chalcolithic cultures of Western India

Silver punch-marked coins

Correct

Harappan Culture

Incorrect

Harappan Culture

Question 4 of 20

4. Question

Which one of the following is the most fundamental difference between Mahayana Buddhism and Hinayana Buddhism ?

Emphasis on ahimsa

Casteless society

Worship of gods and goddesses

Worship of stupa

Correct

Worship of gods and goddesses

Incorrect

Worship of gods and goddesses

Question 5 of 20

5. Question

A, B, C, D, E and F, not necessarily in that order, are sitting in six chairs regularly placed around a round table. It is observed that

A is between D and F.

C is opposite D.

D and E are not on neighbouring chairs. Which one of the following must be true?

A is opposite B

D is opposite E

C and B are neighbours

B and E are neighbours

Correct

B and E are neighbours

Incorrect

B and E are neighbours

Question 6 of 20

6. Question

Which one of the the following usages was a post-Vedic development ?

Dharma — Artha — Kama — Moksha

Brahmana—Kshatriya—Vaishya—Shudra

Brahmacharya—Grihastashrama— Vanaprastha — Sanyasa

Indra — Surya — Rudra — Marut

Correct

Brahmacharya—Grihastashrama— Vanaprastha — Sanyasa

The emergence of monarchical states in the later Vedic age (10 to 5th century BC) , led to a distancing of the rajan from the people and the emergence of a varna hierarchy. The society was divided into four social groups— Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.

Post Vedic age, ashrama system was developed i.e. after 5th century BC.

Incorrect

Brahmacharya—Grihastashrama— Vanaprastha — Sanyasa

The emergence of monarchical states in the later Vedic age (10 to 5th century BC) , led to a distancing of the rajan from the people and the emergence of a varna hierarchy. The society was divided into four social groups— Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.

Post Vedic age, ashrama system was developed i.e. after 5th century BC.

Question 7 of 20

7. Question

In a class there are 18 boys who are over 160 cm tall. If these boys constitute three-fourths of the boys and the total number of boys is two-third of the number of students in the class, then what is the number of girls in the class?

6

12

18

24

Correct

12

Incorrect

12

Question 8 of 20

8. Question

The Himalayas are formed of parallel fold ranges, of which the oldest range is

The Siwalik Range

The Lesser Himalayas

The Great Himalayan Range

The Dhaula Dhar Range

Correct

The Great Himalayan Range

Incorrect

The Great Himalayan Range

Question 9 of 20

9. Question

Which one of the following is the most important reason for the establishment of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thumba?

The sea is near to the place in the East, West and South directions

It is a place near to a city in India, which is nearest to the Geographic Equator

It is situated on the Geomagnetic Equator

Outer space near Thumba exhibits queer atmospheric phenomena

Correct

It is situated on the Geomagnetic Equator

It’s a common misconception that when launching a rocket into orbit you have to accelerate it vertically. A satellite requires an orbital (i.e. tangential) velocity given by:

v≈

where M is the Earth’s mass and r is the distance from the Earth’s centre. If you consider, for example, a GPS satellite with an altitude of about 20,000 km from the ground the orbital speed is about 14,000 km/hour. So to get it into a stable orbit you need to accelerate it sideways, not vertically.

Because the Earth rotates, any point on the Earth already has a tangential velocity, and this velocity varies from zero at the North and South pole to about 1,700 km/hour at the equator. The higher the tangential velocity at the launch site the less you need to boost the rocket’s speed and the less fuel it will use. So it’s better to launch rockets from the equator than from the North pole.

The geographical equator is quite close to the magnetic equator. Besides, magnetic quator also offers several other advantages.

Thumba is located very close the magnetic equator of the Earth (located just north of Thumba), making it the ideal location for scientists to conduct atmospheric research. In fact, Thumba’s location at 8°32’34” N and 76°51’32” E is ideal for low-altitude, upper atmosphere and ionosphere studies. Thumba is a small fishing village situated close to the Thiruvananthapuram airport in Kerala.

At the geomagnetic equator, the satellite will suffer less resistance in flight. Here is what geomagnetic equator means. Some basics of earth magnetic is also given as many questions are asked in UPSC on this topic.

Geomagnetic equator is a notional circle on the earth’s surface, the plane of which is equidistant between the north and south magnetic poles and perpendicular to the magnetic field.
To a first approximation, the Earth’s magnetic field resembles that of an enormous bar magnet. The field lines emerge from the southern half of the earth and re-enter in the northern half.

Several features of the Earth’s field vary in a predictable way across the surface of the globe and might, in principle, be used in assessing geographic position. For example, at each location on the Earth, the field lines intersect the Earth’s surface at a specific angle of inclination. On the diagram above, note that near the equator, the field lines are approximately parallel to the Earth’s surface; the inclination angle in this region is said to be 0°. As one travels north from the equator, however, the field lines become progressively steeper. At the magnetic pole, the field lines are directed almost straight down into the Earth and the inclination is said to be 90°. Thus, inclination angle varies with latitude. As a consequence, an animal that has the ability to distinguish between magnetic inclination angles has a mechanism that it might be able to use to approximate its latitude. As we will discuss, hatchling loggerheads have been shown to have this ability.

A second geomagnetic parameter that varies across the surface of the Earth is the strength or intensity of the field. Although intensity varies somewhat less predictably than inclination, the general trend is that the field is strongest near the magnetic poles and is weakest near the equator. Hatchling loggerheads have also been shown to detect magnetic field intensity.

November 21, 1963 was a golden day in the Indian Space chronology, when rocket-based research in the country had formally begun. A two-stage sounding rocket, Nike Apache, imported from the United States was launched on that day, heralding the operationalisation of Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS). TERLS was established at Thumba because the geo-magnetic equator of earth passed over the very place. Hence Thumba was selected as the site for establishes a rocket station that would launch sounding rockets intended for meteorological and upper atmospheric research.

Incorrect

It is situated on the Geomagnetic Equator

November 21, 1963 was a golden day in the Indian Space chronology, when rocket-based research in the country had formally begun. A two-stage sounding rocket, Nike Apache, imported from the United States was launched on that day, heralding the operationalisation of Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS). TERLS was established at Thumba because the geo-magnetic equator of earth passed over the very place. Hence Thumba was selected as the site for establishes a rocket station that would launch sounding rockets intended for meteorological and upper atmospheric research.

Question 10 of 20

10. Question

A club has 108 members. Two-thirds of them are men and the rest are women. All members are married except for 9 women members. How many married women are there in the club ?

20

27

24

30

Correct

27

Incorrect

27

Question 11 of 20

11. Question

A person starts from a point A and travels 3 km eastwards to B and then turns left and travels thrice that distance to reach C. He again turns left and travels five times the distance he covered between A and B and reaches his destination D. The shortest distance between the starting point and destination is

18 km

16 km

15 km

12 km

Correct

15 km

Incorrect

15 km

Question 12 of 20

12. Question

A man is facing west. He turns 45 0 in the clockwise direction and then another 180 0 in the same direction and then 2700 in the anti-clockwise direction. Which direction is he facing now?

South West

South East

North West

North East

Correct

South West

Incorrect

South West

Question 13 of 20

13. Question

In the Gandhara sculptures the preaching mudra associated with the Buddha’s First Sermon at Sarnath is

abhaya

dhyana

dharmachakra

bhumisparsa

Correct

dharmachakra

“Gesture of Argument”
(vitarka) also called “The Gesture of Debate” or “discussion” mudra. In this gesture the tips of thumb and index finger touched forming a circle. All the other fingers are extended upwards. This is the mystic gesture of Taras and Bodhisattvas, often used when explaining the Buddhas teachings.

Buddha Mudra: DHARMACHAKRA – Wheel of Dharma (Cosmic Order)What is Darmachakra Mudra? Dharmachakra mudra expresses the continuous energy (symbolized by a wheel/chakra) of the cosmic order. The hands are placed at the heart level with the thumbs and index fingers forming circles (similar to Vitarka mudra ). The right palm faces outwards and the left one faces towards the heart.

This mudra is associated with Buddha’s first sermon, or teaching. It is often referred to as the representation of teaching about the cosmic order as coming from (or through) the heart center.

Incorrect

dharmachakra

“Gesture of Argument”
(vitarka) also called “The Gesture of Debate” or “discussion” mudra. In this gesture the tips of thumb and index finger touched forming a circle. All the other fingers are extended upwards. This is the mystic gesture of Taras and Bodhisattvas, often used when explaining the Buddhas teachings.

Buddha Mudra: DHARMACHAKRA – Wheel of Dharma (Cosmic Order)What is Darmachakra Mudra? Dharmachakra mudra expresses the continuous energy (symbolized by a wheel/chakra) of the cosmic order. The hands are placed at the heart level with the thumbs and index fingers forming circles (similar to Vitarka mudra ). The right palm faces outwards and the left one faces towards the heart.

This mudra is associated with Buddha’s first sermon, or teaching. It is often referred to as the representation of teaching about the cosmic order as coming from (or through) the heart center.

Question 14 of 20

14. Question

A worker reaches his factory 3 minutes late if his speed from his house to the factory is 5 km/hr. If he walks at a speed of 6 km/hr, then he reaches the factory 7 minutes early. The distance of the factory from his house is

4 km

5 km

6 km

7 km

Correct

5 km

Incorrect

5 km

Question 15 of 20

15. Question

Epiphytes are plants, which depend on other plants for

Food

Mechanical support

Shade

Water

Correct

mechanical support

A plant, such as a tropical orchid or a staghorn fern, that grows on another plant upon which it depends for mechanical support but not for nutrients. Also called aerophyte, air plant.

Incorrect

mechanical support

A plant, such as a tropical orchid or a staghorn fern, that grows on another plant upon which it depends for mechanical support but not for nutrients. Also called aerophyte, air plant.

Question 16 of 20

16. Question

Who among the following leaders proposed to adopt Complete Independence as the goal of the Congress in the Ahmedabad session of 1920?

17. Question

Volcanic eruptions do not occur in the

Baltic Sea

Black Sea

Caspian Sea

Caribbean Sea

Correct

Baltic Sea

Incorrect

Baltic Sea

Question 18 of 20

18. Question

A conveyer belt delivers baggage at the rate of 3 tons in 5 minutes, and a second conveyer belt delivers baggage at the rate of 1 ton in 2 minutes. How much time will it take to get 33 tons of baggage delivered using both the conveyer belts ?

25 minutes and 30 seconds

30 minutes

35 minutes

40 minutes and 45 seconds

Correct

30 minutes

Incorrect

30 minutes

Question 19 of 20

19. Question

Water is filled in a container in such a manner that its volume doubles after every five minutes. If takes 30 minutes for the container to be full, in how much time will it be one-fourth full ?

10 minutes

20 minutes

12 Minutes

15 Minutes

Correct

20 minutes

Incorrect

20 minutes

Question 20 of 20

20. Question

Assertion (A): A piece of copper and a piece of glass are heated to the same temperature. When touched, thereafter, the copper piece appears hotter than the glass piece. Reason (R): The density of copper is more than that of glass.

Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A.

Both A and R are individually true but R is NOT a correct explanation of A.

A is true but R is false.

A is false but R is true.

Correct

Both A and R are individually true but R is NOT a correct explanation of A.

Incorrect

Both A and R are individually true but R is NOT a correct explanation of A.